[Sri Lanka Bloggers] How seven little faces continue to change me…

Photos have the ability to change our perceptions -- and our lives. A photo that Matthew Paul Turner saw as a ninth-grader takes on new significance as he prepares for a trip to Sri Lanka with the World Vision bloggers.

Read on to learn about the exciting new role Matthew is taking on for this year's trip -- the second one he's taken with World Vision after last year's trip to Bolivia.

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In ninth grade, I wrote a report about Sri Lanka for a current-events class.

In case you’re unfamiliar with where the country of Sri Lanka is located, it’s the teardrop-shaped island at the southern tip of India in the Indian Ocean. It’s a small country, about half the size of Alabama, but it’s home to more than 20 million people.

In 1988, when I was writing that report, my local library only carried two books about Sri Lanka, one of which featured a small number of pages displaying full-colored photographs of the island. Most of the pictures showcased Sri Lanka’s beautiful landscape -- green-covered hillsides, flower-doused lagoons, and turquoise waves washing ashore on pristine white beaches.

But on one those full-colored pages, the book featured pictures of Sri Lankan people doing various things -- working, worshiping, celebrating, and dancing. Something about that page of pictures mesmerized me.

I wasn’t very cultured in ninth grade, so perhaps I was simply intrigued by how different they looked compared to how I looked: Their beautiful brown complexions. Their brightly colored gowns and robes and dresses. Their large, brown, curious eyes. Their thoughtful and kind expressions. That page of pictures hypnotized me for more than a few moments…

The Sri Lanka bloggers team will be traveling this week, so please keep them in your prayers. Tune in next week as we blog in real time about the life-changing realities of sponsorship through World Vision. Still want to ask questions about our sponsorship programs? Post them as comments below!

If you've missed any of our other posts introducing the Sri Lanka blogger trip participants, read them here:

Become a part of the journey: Sponsor a child in Sri Lanka today. Your love and ongoing support will help deliver basics like nutritious food, clean water, medical care, education, and more -- establishing stability for the present and hope for the future.